The attempted murder of Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia has caused house prices in Salisbury to drop by 8.8%, according to research by loan company Cashback Remortgages.
The poisoning, carried out with nerve agent Novichok, occurred in March 2018. Since then, average house prices have decrease in Salisbury between May and July, whereas across Wiltshire, they increased 1.7%. Â
The incident has also increased the number of houses being put on the market in in the city, with 19% more homeowners attempting to sell between May and July than February and April.
Table courtesy of cashbackremortgages.co.uk
Suchit Sethi, the founder of Cashback Remortgages, said: "It’s possible that the relentless media attention focused on the city has stirred up doubts in the minds of some prospective buyers and contributed to a drop-off in demand. Equally, the scandal may have caused a surge in people putting their homes on the market.
"Over time things will almost certainly recalibrate to the norm but for now the Salisbury property market appears anything but normal."
Top image: Police forensics tent in Salisbury (Wikimedia Commons/ Peter Curbishley)
